NRL nervous over Cronulla Sharks' apologies

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THE NRL has internal misgivings over Cronulla's decision to apologise to four sacked staff and re-instate trainer Mark Noakes.

The Sharks on Monday concluded a three-month review of the sackings, which took place on March 8 after an independent investigation had discovered "serious management failures" around their controversial 2011 supplement program.

Football manager Darren Mooney and Noakes were both sacked from fulltime positions, while veteran doctor David Givney and physiotherapist Konrad Schultz had their consultancies terminated.

Their dismissals angered players and members, leading to the Sharks board being overthrown at the club elections in late April.

The new board, led by ex-Olympic basketball star Damian Keogh, vowed to review the sackings and have engaged lawyers to do so over the past three months.

All four staff had been desperate to win their old jobs back.

But Noakes was the only one with a genuine chance because he did not attend a meeting on April 6, 2011, where concerns about the supplement program were raised and recorded without knowledge of the previous board. Noakes had also commenced unfair dismissal action against the club.

But his decision to drop the suit earlier this month indicated that reinstatement was on the cards.

In regular dialogue with Sharks decision makers, NRL chief executive Dave Smith expressed trepidation about overturning the decision before the current ASADA investigation is completed.

Smith was nervous because he possessed the written statement Noakes had tendered to the independent investigation, which has been revealed by The Daily Telegraph. The statement names banned peptides GHRP-6 and CJC-1295 as the substances that Noakes, the club's anti-doping officer at the time, claimed were being used in 2011.

In response to Cronulla's announcement Monday, the NRL released a statement that was damning in its brevity.

It has no control over internal governance issues between clubs and their employees or contractors.

"Clubs ... have sole responsibility for their own good corporate governance particularly in relation to the proper administration of their organisation," the NRL statement read.

"The NRL accepts the right of the Cronulla board therefore to determine its recent action and trusts that the board has compelling reasons for reversing its earlier decision."

The Sharks statement revealed "new information which was not before the previous board" had emerged as a result of its review of the sackings.

The club retracted any statements that might have caused damage to the quartet's reputation and offered each individual a "full apology" for distress inflicted upon "them and their families".

The return of Noakes was made with immediate effect, while Givney and Schultz were welcomed to re-apply for their roles next season.

While Mooney remains sidelined, discussions are also underway for his "possible return".

But the fact the NRL has overseen the appointments of experienced administrators Bruno Cullen (chief executive) and Steve Noyce (football manager) is complicating attempts to return Mooney to his previous role.